Egypt's prime minister has appointed new government representatives to the board of state-owned landline monopoly Telecom Egypt, his office said in a statement on Wednesday.

The new board of the company will meet on Wednesday to choose a new chairman and chief executive officer, it added.

The reason for the removal of CEO Mohamed Elnawawy was not immediately clear.

Earlier on Wednesday the company said it was considering buying treasury stocks after the company's share price plunged below nominal value.

Telecom Egypt's share rose by more than four percent on Wednesday before the bourse halted its trading awaiting the new board's formation.

The government owns 80 percent of Telecom Egypt, which in turn has a 45 per cent stake in mobile operator Vodafone Egypt .

Telecom Egypt agreed last year to pay EGP2.5 billion ($327.65 million) for a unified licence that would allow it to enter the lucrative mobile sector, competing against Vodafone Egypt and two other existing mobile providers.

But activation of the licence, approved by the government last year, has been repeatedly delayed. – Reuters